In February 2008, Jenni had been on CatholicMatch over a year without much success. Discouraged, she went on the CatholicMatch site to remove her profile, but something stopped her. There was a message from a member named Joe.
Looking at Joe’s profile, Jenny was pleased to see that he was a teacher like her and that he also taught in the Columbus, Ohio area.
She contacted him and the two hit it off right away. A few weeks later, they had a movie date scheduled. Joe arrived at the theater first. “I saw a woman with crazy hair standing there and I really hoped she wasn't Jenni!”
Thankfully, Jenni arrived a few minutes later and she looked like her profile picture and she didn’t have crazy hair. Feeling a bit nervous, Joe wanted to make sure it was Jenni, so instead of approaching her, he called her cell phone first.
The evening felt a little awkward for them. “Both of us were uncertain if the other was really interested,” remembers Jenni.
They must have gotten past those insecurities because on October 16, 2009, Joe proposed by recreating a scene from Alice in Wonderland—Jenni's favorite movie. Except the story was adapted to be Jenni in Engagementland. Throughout his home, Joe had set up props, backgrounds, and music for each scene. He read a script that he had adapted to fit his proposal. “At each scene, he made me a promise that related to the scene. At the end of the re-creation, he got down on one knee and proposed,” says Jenni.
On June 26, 2010, the two were married at Joe’s parish, St. Cecelia’s, in Columbus, Ohio. They had a full Mass with a reception that followed with about 140 guests. As a special touch, “the flower girls at the wedding handed roses to people sitting on the aisles,” she says.
For their wedding program, they had a detailed 24-page program, including background on Catholic marriages, their stories—individually and together—and letters to their fathers, who were both deceased at the time of the wedding. Also, “One of Joe's former students gave out prizes to people throughout the reception,” recalls Jenni.
The Best Part of Being Married
Joe and Jenni have been blessed with two beautiful boys: Nate and baby Adrian. Besides their boys, the best part of being married for both of them is having love and support from each other. “We make each other better people and know we'll always be there for each other and our kids. We work together to move each other towards heaven, as we committed to in our sacrament approaching five years ago,” says Joe.
So as not to lose themselves as a couple—because taking care of the kids is so encompassing—the two of them plan date nights for once a month. “We take turns planning, and the other person doesn't know what we're doing until the actual event. Maintaining this special time for ourselves helps keep our marriage strong,” they say.
Discovery
I asked Joe and Jenni about what aspects of marriage were most surprising to them. What Jenni discovered about marriage “is how much you need each other to make things work. I was very independent before meeting Joe. Now I don't know how I would make it through life without him.”
Joe loves how he and Jenni are true partners because of the sacrament of marriage, but being a partner also means being willing to sacrifice for the good of the other. “I see how it is hard for both of us at times to put the other person first, and yet the benefits are well worth the sacrifice.”
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